The marsupial mole is a rare burrowing mammal from Western Australia. It has no external ears and only vestigial eyes beneath its skin. Its pouch has evolved to face backwards to avoid filling up with sand, and its neck vertebrae are fused together to give its head greater rigidity while burrowing.

Your turn.

_________________"All PPK gamers should put on their badge of shame right now. You will never leave the no-sex thread." - Vantine"I'm so glad my prison of principles has wifi." - Abelskiver

geoduck (gooey duck) clam (I hope this one isn't too played out, what with it being all over Discovery Channel and Top Chef, the fame hors d'oeuvre)

This interesting creature is a saltwater bivalve that likes to live in the lower tidal areas of Puget Sound. Most geoducks weigh between one and three pounds, but they can grow to over five pounds. As the geoduck gets older, it buries itself deeper into the tidal sediment at the rate of about a foot a year. Once it has reached a satisfactory depth of about three feet, the geoduck will stay in that spot for the remainder of its life time (which is a long time--a hundred or more years). A geoduck's siphon can stretch up to 39 inches and allows the clam to suck up phytoplankton-containing water through one hole and deposit waste out another. Many people have compared the siphon to a weener, which isn't very nice. A female geoduck produces billions of eggs during her lifetime, but a variety of factors work to keep the population at a drastically lower number. Currently, the impact of harvesting geoducks for culinary purposes is being scrutinized for environmental impact.

This is a tardigrade, also called a water bear. Tardigrades are microscopic animals famous for being able to withstand extremes of temperature, pressure, and radiation. They're also the first animal proven to be able to survive the vacuum and radiation of outer space, according to research by the European Space Agency. The program was called Tardigrades in Space, or TARDIS for short.

_________________"All PPK gamers should put on their badge of shame right now. You will never leave the no-sex thread." - Vantine"I'm so glad my prison of principles has wifi." - Abelskiver

This is an axolotl, an endangered species native to Mexico. Axolotls are a species of salamander that obtains maturity without undergoing metamorphosis, a property known as neoteny. Axolotls can actually be artificially induced to undergo metamorphosis by an injection of thyroxine hormone, changing into a form resembling a Mexican Tiger Salamander.

_________________"All PPK gamers should put on their badge of shame right now. You will never leave the no-sex thread." - Vantine"I'm so glad my prison of principles has wifi." - Abelskiver

This is an axolotl, an endangered species native to Mexico. Axolotls are a species of salamander that obtains maturity without undergoing metamorphosis, a property known as neoteny. Axolotls can actually be artificially induced to undergo metamorphosis by an injection of thyroxine hormone, changing into a form resembling a Mexican Tiger Salamander.

_________________"rise from the ashes of douchebaggery like a fancy vegan phoenix" - amandabear"I'm pretty sure the moral of this story is: fork pants." - cq

The marsupial mole is a rare burrowing mammal from Western Australia. It has no external ears and only vestigial eyes beneath its skin. Its pouch has evolved to face backwards to avoid filling up with sand, and its neck vertebrae are fused together to give its head greater rigidity while burrowing.

The coconut crab is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is a native to Guam. They are named for their ability to crack open coconuts with their powerful pincers. They can be harmful to humans, but are slow-moving so it very unlikely that a human would get into that situation. There have been reports of coconut crabs being 6 feet in length, but they are generally seen at 16 inches. They cannot swim and they have a sense of smell.

_________________Real vegans eat nothing but organic, grass-fed grass. - FootFaceI avoid protein on principle. - IsaChandraI used to dress up like Wonder Woman but I didn't grow up to an Amazon Princess who dabbles in bondage and flys an invisible jet. -idatetattoedguys

There are nine species of giant isopods. They are related to pillbugs, and can roll up into a ball for protection. Giant isopods are bottom dwellers, and can live at depths of 7,000 feet or more. Because the bottom of the deep ocean is so scarce in nutrition, giant isopods gorge themselves whenever they come across food, sometimes to the point that they can't move for several days. They are mostly scavengers, feeding on whale, squid, and fish carcasses, but they will also eat slow moving animals like sponges and sea cucumbers. They are not commercially fished.

I like this from seasky.org:

Quote:

The enormous size of the giant isopod is a result of a phenomenon known as deep sea gigantism. This is the tendency of deep sea crustaceans and other animals to grow to a much larger size than similar species in shallower waters.

_________________my roommate spilled tuna juice on the bathroom floor while he was eating on the toilet! should i bleach the floor or just tear up the tile? - acrVegan Coloradical

The frilled shark is referred to as a "living fossil" because it is a primitive species that has changed little since prehistoric times. Their long, extremely flexible jaws enable it to swallow large prey whole, while the many rows of small, needle-like teeth prevent escape. This terrifying creature is found in many bodies of water, but are rarely encountered alive. Because of over-fishing, the species is now considered near-threatened.

abbierae wrote:

I like this from seasky.org:

Quote:

The enormous size of the giant isopod is a result of a phenomenon known as deep sea gigantism. This is the tendency of deep sea crustaceans and other animals to grow to a much larger size than similar species in shallower waters.

A tuatara named Henry, 111 years old, at home at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery (2009)

Tuatara are a lizard-like reptile endemic to New Zealand. They are the only surviving members of the Sphenodontia order, and are affectionately referred to as ‘living fossils’ - all other species in the order became extinct around 60 million years ago. It is thought that the species* have survived for so long because New Zealand split from Gondwana before the development of mammals, many of which are dangerous predators for tuatara. DNA analysis has shown that tuatara evolve faster than any other animals studied (according to the National Geographic in 2008 anyway). This is perhaps counterintuitive given their ‘ancient’ physical appearance - tuatara are green-brown (their colour varies over their life span), have a soft spiny crest down their backbone, unique dental and skeletal features, and a ‘third eye’ (parietal eye) which they cannot see from but is thought to function as a light sensor. They have no external ears but are able to hear, and can make a croaking noise but mainly communicate through body language. They can live for over 100 years, and can hold their breath for nearly an hour.

Tuatara feature in many Maori legends - for example in creation stories, as messengers of the god of death/disaster, as guardians of knowledge, and as indications of tapu. They have been endangered since 1895 and were extinct on the New Zealand mainland since the late 1700s, due to habitat loss and introduced predators. They survived on sanctuary islands, though attempts to reintroduce them to a sanctuary in Wellington have been successful - in 2008 a nest was discovered, and a hatchling was found in March 2009.

* There are two distinct tuatara species - Sphenodon guntheri and Sphenodon punctatus.

(This was so much fun that I don't know how to edit it down to a more reasonable length.)

The Ratel, or Honey Badger, is a small carnivore native to Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. Despite the name, it is actually more closely related to weasels than to badgers. Its thick and elastic skin protects it from other predators and from its own preys - snakes, in particular.

Along with the human being, it is the only animal able to run backwards.

The Kagu is a bird native to New Caledonia only. It's about 60cm tall. Its cry earned it its name. The Kagu cannot fly or swim, only walk on the ground. When in danger, it tries to hide - despite having a white plumage and living on a tropical island. Once a year, it lays a single egg directly on the ground and leaves.

great, now i finally know something about the geoduck! i've been creeped out for years by this picture showing up once in a while on another forum i'm reading:

looking for that picture, i found creepyanimals.com - the website to end this thread. sorry. no, go on.

the lyrebird:

"David Attenborough presents the amazing lyre bird, which mimics the calls of other birds - and chainsaws and camera shutters - in this video clip from The Life of Birds. This clever creature is one of the most impressive and funny in nature, with unbelievable sounds to match the beautiful pictures."

_________________it's hard to be happy when you're not using the metric system

The Kagu is a bird native to New Caledonia only. It's about 60cm tall. Its cry earned it its name. The Kagu cannot fly or swim, only walk on the ground. When in danger, it tries to hide - despite having a white plumage and living on a tropical island. Once a year, it lays a single egg directly on the ground and leaves.

Surprisingly enough, this species is now endangered.

Aw! So sad! I want to go rescue the Kagu now, silly bird.

hoveringdog wrote:

I'm not familiar with the goanna. Perhaps, maybe, you can FRICKIN' TELL US ABOUT IT. God, people, this isn't a complicated concept. Make with the damn animals already.

Funniest thing I've read today. I like pissy h-dog. Sorry, no animals, I need to go make my cat say something funny so I can post in Isa's thread. Priorities!

_________________#sexysocialism

"I will take a drugged, sex-crazed, punk rock commie over Mrs. Thatch any day of the week" - Vantine

I'm not familiar with the goanna. Perhaps, maybe, you can FRICKIN' TELL US ABOUT IT. God, people, this isn't a complicated concept. Make with the damn animals already.

Guys, check this one out, its called a housecat!The cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or housecat[5] to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small furry domesticated carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years.

Glass lizards have no legs. Because of its snake-like appearance, this lizard is often mistaken for a snake. You can identify it by its pointed snout, narrow head, and long cylindrical body that reaches about 18-36 inches. Also, glass lizards can blink and snakes cannot!

The Pelochelys cantorii, or Cantor’s Giant Soft Shelled Turtle, is one of the most unusual looking animals on earth and certainly one of the most odd looking turtles in existence. Yet few people have seen it or know about it. It’s not a sea turtle - the Cantor prefers to inhabit inland, close to streams and wetlands. It grows very large, with adult shells often spanning more than six feet. They are native to Cambodia but are very rare.